1.2 Analyse the factors that have to be considered when formulating strategic plans

1.3 Evaluate the effectiveness of techniques used when developing strategic business plans

LO2 : Be able to formulate a new strategy

2.1 Analyse the strategic positioning of a given organisation by carrying out an organisational audit

2.2 Carry out an environmental audit for a given organisation

2.3 Assess the significance of stakeholder analysis when formulating new strategy

2.4 Present a new strategy for a given organisation

LO3: Understand approaches to strategy evaluation

3.1 Analyse the appropriateness of alternative strategies relating to market entry, substantive growth, limited growth or retrenchment for a given organisation

3.2 Justify the selection of a strategy

LO 4: Understand how to implement a chosen strategy

4.1 Assess the roles and responsibilities of personnel who are charged with strategy implementation

4.2 Analyse the estimated resource requirements for implementing a new strategy for a given organisation

4.3 Evaluate the contribution of SMART targets to the achievement of strategy implementation in a given organisation.

Please see that you include the Turnitin report.

This work will not be accepted without the Turn it in report.

Report attached: Yes / No

If no Reason:

% of the turn it in report.

Learners Declaration: I certify that the work submitted for this unit is my own and the research sources are fully acknowledged.

Learners Signature: Date:

Plagiarism:

Any act of plagiarism will be seriously dealt with according to the colleges and awarding bodies’ regulations. In this context the definition and scope of plagiarism are presented below:

Plagiarism is presenting someone’s work as your won. It includes copying information directly from the web or books without referencing the material; submitting joint coursework as an individual effort; copying another student’s coursework; stealing coursework form another student and submitting it as your own work. Suspected plagiarism will be investigated and if found to have occurred will be dealt with according to the college procedure. (For further details please refer to the plagiarism policy and the student code of conduct.)

Due Dates

Issue Date

Assignment Guidelines:

Use a standard report structure, Word-process the report and use Normal script of a proper font size 12.

Produce an academic report, detailing the above issues with an approx. word limit of 3000 to 4500 words.

Complete the title page and sign the statement of authenticity.

The Assignment sheet should be attached in the front.

All work must be uploaded on turnitin before the submission date. .

Assignments submitted after the deadline will not be accepted unless mitigating and may be entitled for cap.

Collusion and Plagiarism must be avoided.

Start each answer on a new page and pages should be numbered. Highlight each question clearly.

Include a Bibliography at the end of the assignment and use the Harvard referencing system.

All work should be comprehensively referenced and all sources must be fully acknowledged, such as books and journals, websites (include the date of visit), etc.

Try to give the page numbers, publishers’ details and the year of publication

In order to pass you need to address all the LO and AC

In order to get a merit you need to address the characteristics of pass and address M1, M2,M3

In order to get a Distinction you need to address the characteristics of pass, merit and address D1, D2 and D3.

To achieve M1, you will make effective judgements about the value to the chosen organisation of mission statements, vision statements, publicly stated goals and core strategies.

(Task 1)

M2. Select/ design and apply appropriate methods/ techniques.

Appropriate learning methods/techniques have been applied.

To achieve M2, you will have used, explained and then evaluated the key techniques available to organisations when they are preparing to implement their short, medium and long term strategies. (Task 1)

M3. Present and communicate appropriate findings.

Communication is appropriate for familiar and unfamiliar audiences and appropriate media have been used.

To achieve M3 the work you present will be presented in suitable business formats and will use appropriate business terminology accurately, in line with the scenario described in the case study (Task 2)

Distinction Grade Description:

D1. Use critical reflection to evaluate own work and justify valid conclusion.

Conclusions have been arrived at through synthesis of ideas and have been justified.

Realistic improvements have been proposed against defined characteristics for success.

To achieve D1 you must show that you have evaluated the strategies you have presented in your assignment, such that they are clearly identified in order of importance (as selected by you) in relation to the future success of the company in the case study. (Task 2)

D2. Take responsibility for managing and organizing activities.

Activities have been managed.

To achieve D2 you will have demonstrated an effective approach to independent research and study, and you will have presented your recommendations in an appropriate business format.

(Task 2)

D3. Demonstrate convergent, lateral and creative thinking

Relevant knowledge gained from previous units has been incorporated in this unit, to demonstrate a synoptic understanding of the business environment.

To achieve D3 you will have drawn conclusions which identify the links between the planning and the implementation of a global strategy for the company cited in the case study. To achieve this you must show that convergent and lateral thinking has been applied to problems and that innovation and creative thought have been applied to your work.

(Task 2)

ASSIGNMENT Brief

Unit Number and title

Unit 7 Business Strategy

Qualification

BTEC HND Business (Level 5)

Start Date

02/05/2017

Deadline/ Hand-in

31/07/2017

Assessor

TASK 1

Task 1 ( LO1: 1.1, 1.2,1.3)

You have a very good business plan and are now seeking for finance. Recently you are to know that you can present your case to the Dragons den, BBC. Entrepreneurs pitch for investment in the Den from the Dragons, five venture capitalist are willing to invest their own money in exchange for equity. Regents College Academic staff has given you an opportunity to pitch before the staff and present your business plan before you pitch for investment in the Den from the Dragons.

You have been asked to provide a presentation for 15 minutes along with a word report approx 800-1000 words addressing the LO1 and AC 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 and assessed by your assessor. Your presentation will not exceed 15 minutes and will address all the AC for LO1.The key objective is to help you understand the process of strategic planning and will thus address the following points:

AC 1.2 Analyse the factors that have to be considered when formulating strategic plan

AC 1.3 Evaluate the effectiveness of techniques used when developing strategic business plans

To achieve M1, you will make effective judgments about the value to your business plan of mission statements, vision statements, publicly stated goals and core strategies.

To achieve M2, you will have used, explained and then evaluated the key techniques available to your business when you are developing strategic business plans.

Task 2

Purpose of this assignment

Students will be able to understanding the process of strategic planning, & the key elements of Strategic Position, Strategic Choices & Strategic Implementation. Students will apply all strategic tools to Volkswagen (VW). They will be required to evaluate the effectiveness of these tools and to put them to practical use through an examination of the VW & near & far environment. VW AG has a portfolio of brands and a trading presence in many international markets.

Scenario:

You are shadowing a strategic planner manager for a business improvement consultancy called New Phoenix. You have been asked to help Volkswagen Group (VW AG), with its’ Strategic Planning in the light of the VW Emission Scandal.

VW AG is one of the world largest automotive manufacturing company. VW sells passenger cars under the Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Audi, Porsche, SEAT, Škoda and Volkswagen marques; motorcycles under the Ducati brand; and commercial vehicles under the MAN, Scania, Neoplan and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles marques. It is divided into two primary divisions, the Automotive Division and the Financial Services Division, and has approximately 340 subsidiary companies. The company has operations in approximately 150 countries and operates 100 production facilities across 27 countries. VW has two major joint-ventures in China (FAW Volkswagen and Shanghai Volkswagen).

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that Volkswagen had installed illegal software to cheat emission tests, allowing its diesel cars to produce up to 40 times more pollution than allowed. The US government has ordered VW to recall 482,000 VW and Audi cars produced since 2009. VW has admitted to fitting 11 million diesel engines worldwide with software that skewed the results of tests for nitrogen oxide emissions.

The Clean Air in London campaign is called for a royal commission to investigate VW activities in the UK. “Diesel is without doubt the biggest public health catastrophe in UK history causing 5,800 premature deaths per each year” said the founder Simon Birkett.

In a speech to 20,000 staff at the VW group’s Wolfsburg headquarters, Matthias Müller the new CEO said all planned investments would be reviewed, while as the company struggles with the deepest crisis in its history.

“The commercial and financial consequences are not yet foreseeable,” he said. “One thing is certain: The burden will be big. Potentially very big.” The global scam has wiped more than 40 percent off Volkswagen’s market capitalisation and forced former chief executive Martin Winterkorn to resign. Müller said the €6.5 billion the company had set aside in the third quarter due to the scandal were just the start. “But it won’t be enough. We must prepare for significant penalties. And many could take the events as an opportunity to claim damages against Volkswagen.” In the United States alone, VW could face up to $18 billion (€16.05 billion) in fines. The car chief said the company was taking a second look at all planned investments, after VW had announced a €86billion five year investment plan last November. We are reviewing all planned investments once again,” he said. “What is not absolutely necessary right now will be scrapped or postponed,” Müller told staff, adding that “every euro that stays in the company helps us”.

A VW spokesman confirmed the figure to AFP, after the company mentioned the figure in a letter to Lawmakers. All of this comes at a critical time for the incumbent car industry, which faces a historic threat from technology firms small and large. For Japanese, European and American car makers, the looming onslaught from Apple, Google, Tesla and the rest will prove to be several orders of magnitude more dangerous even than the rise of the Japanese car makers in the 1970s and 1980s.

Cars once contained zero electronics; today they are stuffed full of them. Eventually, cars will become computers on wheels. The incumbent manufacturers are very good at many things, but they will find it extremely tough to compete with the technology, vast pockets and design know-how of the likes of Apple.

Task 2: You have been given the task of preparing a report for the main board of the VW AG. The report must be written in a professional manner and properly referenced. The report should comply with the word count of 3000 words (± 10%). You may use tables and diagrams to support your report and to illustrate the text. Word count excludes the index, headings, information contained in tables, references and bibliography.

Your report will address the following as specified addressing LO2, LO3 and LO4 and the AC against each as specified below:

LO2 Show how VW AG can formulate a new strategy;.

AC 2.1 Analyse the strategic positioning of VW AG by carrying out an organisational audit

AC 2.2 Carry out an environment audit for VW AG

AC 2.3 Assess the significance of stakeholder analysis when formulating new strategy for VW AG

AC 4.1 Assess the roles & responsibilities of personnel at VW AG who are charged with strategy implementation

AC 4.2 Analyse the estimated resource requirements for implementing a new strategy for VW AG

AC 4.3 Evaluate the contribution of SMART targets to the achievement of strategy implementation in VW AG

To achieve M3 the work you present will be presented in suitable business formats and will use appropriate business terminology accurately, in line with the scenario described in the case study. To achieve D1 you must show that you have evaluated the strategies you have presented in your assignment, such that they are clearly identified in order of importance (as selected by you) in relation to the future success of the company in the case study. To achieve D2 you will have demonstrated an effective approach to independent research and study, and you will have presented your recommendations in an appropriate business format. To achieve D3 you will have drawn conclusions which identify the links between the planning and the implementation of a global strategy for the company cited in the case study. To achieve this you must show that convergent and lateral thinking has been applied to problems and that innovation and creative thought have been applied to your work.

UNIT 7 BS

GRADE

Achievement Summary

The Following Sections to be completed by the assessor:

Centre Name:

Regent HE

Campus:

Centre Number:

Please note that the assessor’s signature below denotes conformation that he/she has in no way influenced the outcome of the assessment:

Unit 7 (LEVEL 5) – BUSINESS STRATEGY

Assessors Name:

Assessors Signature:

Learners Name (to be filled by the Assessor)

Intake: Apr 16

Batch:

Term: 4

Campus: Wembley

Learners Edexcel Reference Number

Has the unit been Internally Verified? Y/N

Date of verification:

Name of the Internal Verifier:

Internal verifiers signature:

If Sampled ,Internal verifiers comments on the assignment brief:

Evidence Checklist

Summary of the evidence required by the student

Evidence presented

Task 1 Presentation before the class

Task 2 Report

Unit Outcomes

Outcome

Evidence for the criteria to pass, merit and distinction as specified in the student feedback and contextualised.

Assessors decision

Internal verification decision. (agree, disagree)

TASK 1 You have a very good business plan and are now seeking for finance. Recently you are to know that you can present your case to the Dragons den, BBC. Entrepreneurs pitch for investment in the Den from the Dragons, five venture capitalist are willing to invest their own money in exchange for equity. Regents College Academic staff has given you an opportunity to pitch before the staff and present your business plan before you pitch for investment in the Den from the Dragons.

You have been asked to provide a presentation for 15 minutes along with a word report approx 800-1000 words addressing the LO1 and AC 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 and assessed by your assessor. Your presentation will not exceed 15 minutes and will address all the AC for LO1.The key objective is to help you understand the process of strategic planning and will thus address the following points:

TASK 2 : You are shadowing a strategic planner manager for a business improvement consultancy called New Phoenix. You have been asked to help Volkswagen Group (VW AG), with its’ Strategic Planning in he light of the VW Emission Scandal. You have been given the task of preparing a report for the main board of the VW AG. The report must be written in a professional manner and properly referenced. The report should comply with the word count of 3000 words (± 10%). You may use tables and diagrams to support your report and to illustrate the text. Word count excludes the index, headings, information contained in tables, references and bibliography. Your report will address the following as specified addressing LO2, LO3 and LO4 and the AC against each as specified below:

LO 2. Be able to formulate a new strategy

AC 2.1 Analyse the strategic positioning of VW AG by carrying out an organisational audit

P2.1(P,M,D)

P2.1(P,M,D)

AC 2.2 Carry out an environment audit for VW AG

P2.2(P,M,D)

P2.2(P,M,D)

AC 2.3 Assess the significance of stakeholder analysis when formulating new strategy for VW AG

Any act of plagiarism will be seriously dealt with according to the colleges and awarding bodies’ regulations. In this context the definition and scope of plagiarism are presented below: Plagiarism is presenting someone’s work as your won. It includes copying information directly from the web or books without referencing the material; submitting joint coursework as an individual effort; copying another student’s coursework; stealing coursework form another student and submitting it as your own work. Suspected plagiarism will be investigated and if found to have occurred will be dealt with according to the college procedure. (For further details please refer to the plagiarism policy and the student code of conduct.